Smart Hospital Apps in Breast Cancer Care: A Qualitative Exploration of Patient Experiences, Challenges, and Future Expectations

To explore how patients with breast cancer perceive their interactions with smart hospital applications and what they hope to see in future improvements. A descriptive qualitative approach was used. In-depth interviews were carried out with 40 breast cancer patients who had experience using smart hospital apps. The interview materials were organized and interpreted through content analysis.

A total of five major themes and two supplementary themes emerged. The major themes included: favorable impressions of smart hospital app usage, obstacles caused by cross-campus data fragmentation, communication and emotional adjustment, restricted autonomy in smart healthcare use, and anticipated advancements in smart hospital systems. The two supplementary themes included: accurate information transmission mechanisms and intelligent guidance within healthcare services. Researchers should strengthen patient-centered communication to gain insight into the issues patients encounter when relying on smart hospitals and to better understand their developmental expectations. Future efforts should emphasize lowering barriers to use and speeding up the growth of smart hospital initiatives.